Innerspace **** (1987, Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis) – Classic Movie Review 6598

Director Joe Dante’s good-looking 1987 fantasy favourite stars Dennis Quaid as US Navy pilot Lieutenant Tuck Pendleton, who is shrunk and injected by mistake into the body of wimpish grocer’s assistant Jack Putter (Martin Short).

With the screenplay written by Jeffrey Boam and Chip Proser, from a story by Proser, this is a clever, unofficial action adventure comedy version of Fantastic Voyage (1966).

Quaid provides the film’s strong, calm centre and Short the delightful, frenetic mugging, and their director Dante hits the right tone of manic slapstick, while not forgetting the sci-fi thrills.

Dennis Muren, Bill George, Harley Jessup and Kenneth Smith  won the Best Visual Effects Oscar for the special effects.

Meg Ryan, who makes little impression as the heroine Lydia Maxwell, carried on her love interest off screen and married co-star Quaid on Valentine’s day, 14 February 1991. They had one child and divorced on 16 July 2001.

Also in the cast, which includes several veterans sadly no longer with us, are Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis, William Schallert, Henry Gibson, Dick Miller, Kenneth Tobey, Kathleen Freeman, Vernon Wells an Robert Picardo.

The TV version cuts minor PG-style swear words.

Innerspace runs 119 minutes, is a Guber-Peters and Amblin production, released by Warner Bros, written by Jeffrey Boam and Chip Proser, shot by Andrew Laszlo, produced by Peter Guber, Jon Peters, Steven Spielberg and Michael Finnell, scored by Jerry Goldsmith and designed by James H Spencer, with special visual effects by Dennis Muren, Bill George, Harley Jessup and Kenneth Smith.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6598

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